


The Gauntlet

by izumi2



Series: Irrefutable Evidences [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Hurt Tony Stark, Not Steve Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reaction, at all!, you were warned!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 18:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8907454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/pseuds/izumi2
Summary: Because sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand.Keep the weaker or more vulnerable in the middle instead of sacrificing them in the frontline.An Empire fell from within.It can be rebuild, but without the people that brought it down.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is where it will start.
> 
> Civil War compilant.

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts;

 

James Rupert Rhodes ‘Rhodey’;

 

Harold Joseph ‘Happy’ Hogan;

 

Last but not least: F.R.I.D.A.Y

 

People tend to overlook them.

 

They see a PA turned CEO, a gold digger, someone that manage to climb so high by climbing on a billionaire’s lap.

 

They see a pristine military career but a very early friendship with the genius, billionaire and assume that this was the reason for such deference.

 

And they see a bodyguard with amusement, that he was just the driver from time to time.

 

And they see what is basically Apple’s Siri.

 

But when Natasha Antonia Stark was finally retrieved from Siberia thanks to the joined efforts from King T’Challa and Vision and a team of SI security, the world would see that Toni was worth more than the money in her pockets and funny gadgets, that she did have loyal friends that saw more than expensive dinners and a career jumpstart.

 

-*-

 

Pepper was trembling in rage, listening to what the doctors had to say.

 

Blunt trauma to the chest, cracked skull, eight broken ribs, cracked sternum, both collarbones shattered, the lung that wasn’t collapsed was perforated…oh, and twisted ankle.

 

She might not survive this.

 

Happy by her side was pale, almost grey, but his usually warm brown eyes were full of anger.

 

And Rhodey was still unconscious from his own surgeries.

 

With a deep breath, Pepper squared her shoulders. The three of them were not Toni’s only genuine friends, by the end of the day, her army would be in motion.

 

-*-

 

Three men and a woman arrived almost at the same time at the doors of the hospital, the woman was Asian, one of the men was in an extremely advanced hovering wheelchair, the other had a slightly slouched posture and the last one was the one that got the most attention. Blue fur covered his entire body and formed a mane in his head.

 

“Dr. McCoy?!” Bruce blinked, “I- it’s an honor to meet you”

 

“Dr. Banner, likewise” unlike the many times before where people didn’t offer to shake his hand, Hank knew that this time it wasn’t really because of him.

 

At his side, Charles chuckled a little, “I must admit that this is one of the few times I have been overlooked”

 

Bruce blushed and Helen smirked, “It is also an honor to meet you, Professor” Charles just laughed again.

 

“I assume we are all here for the same reason?”

 

“Ms. Potts contacted me and only said that it was urgent for me to arrive as fast as I could” Helen offered with a frown.

 

Before anyone else could answer a glowing symbol formed above their heads and lowered itself, revealing a man with intricate robes and a red cape.

 

“Doctor Bane, Doctor Cho, Professor Xavier”

 

“Doctor Strange” Bruce nodded, surprised and a little wary, he didn’t forget their first meeting.

 

“Doctor Strange” a little surprisingly, Hank McCoy also greeted back.

 

“How do you know of me?” his expression changed little, just a raised eyebrow.

 

“Toni actually…”

 

A sharp intake of breath from Charles had them all look down at him, his eyes were wide, his face showing fear and then anger, and they followed his eyes to the one of the tallest windows in the building.

 

“Charles? What is it?” Hank was trying to identify anything that might have provoked his friend to this extent, but the chances that it was something he couldn’t see was a lot greater than the chances that it was something he could see.

 

“Toni” was all he could get out.

 

-*-

 

“Dear God” Bruce muttered reading Toni’s medical files and exams.

 

Even Helen and Stephen – seasoned medical doctors – were pale, but she muscled on, “Ms. Potts, I loathe what I am about to admit, but I don’t think the Cradle…”

 

“That is not why I asked all of you to come here” Pepper Potts was every bit the ruthless professional businesswoman, “I hope that you **_can_** help her health, and that is the primary reason, but in long term, I need your help in something else”

 

Her stony expression was enough to get their attention.

 

-*-

 

Pepper explained, better yet, showed everything. And by everything it was really everything. Since the first time the first person to be an Avenger ever came in contact with Toni’s life.

 

JARVIS had every footage so by default, FRIDAY had it too, since her creator was out of commission, her directress were now Pepper and Rhodey and they, once Rhodey woke up and got the news on his best friend’s situation, intended to take full advantage that Toni would otherwise never allow them to. The truth was ugly, but Toni never deserved the several lies that even she told the world so others could be spared.

 

 Toni’s irrational and erratic behavior that the world saw in 2010 was the result of Palladium poisoning. That not counting on the psychological effects of knowing that the one thing keeping him alive was also killing him; they watched her desperately but methodically test every single element in the periodic table for nothing. The closer it got to the stimulated time frame, the more impulsive she was.

 

_“If that was your last birthday, what would you do?”_

_“Whatever I wanted”_

 

When Toni was finally able to figure out a way to save her own life, all she got in return was ‘Iron Woman: Yes’; ‘Toni Stark: No’.

 

And then was the footage that Toni only recently discovered herself and didn’t even have the time to see: their mission to retrieve Loki’s scepter in Sokovia. There was a barrier around the building so he had to access the files from within, that left him vulnerable for a little less than 10 minutes, but that was enough for Wanda Maximoff to get into his head.

 

“So that’s why” Bruce muttered to himself.

 

His fellow scientists sent him a curious look but their attention was back to the screens.

 

Johannesburg… Bruce’s eyes widened.

 

  _“My father made that shield!”_

They finished watching the footage in horror.

 

Bruce’s fist were trembling, his normally brown eyes were green, a deep grown escaped his lips.

 

“Doctor Banner!” Charles exclaimed and was relieved when Bruce took several deep breaths, his eyes were still green, but his fists stopped shaking. The telepath too was deeply disturbed.

 

Pepper got their attention and explained the details of what happened and what they had in mind.

 

-*-

 

In the middle of their work in unison with the hospital to try and stabilize Toni, there was a commotion in the hall, Strange barely glanced up from his work.

 

“I will check it out” Bruce offered.

 

Down the corridor, where family and friends usually wait was a huge crowd, Bruce worried for a second what these people were doing there.

 

While the world at large knew that Toni was in the hospital, her exact location and medical files weren’t public, yet at least. The media was having a field day. All those 117 countries were speaking up in fear, and more soon joined; these enhanced, powerful individuals were loose on the world and put two of the few capable of standing up to them in the hospital and after two weeks they had yet to get out of. And while the majority of the public were beginning to see that perhaps the guy wearing the American flag running around having a hand in destroying several major cities in other countries could have pretty nasty consequences, there were those that are infuriated that Iron Woman and her team ‘chased them away from America’.

 

And that last group is what Bruce was afraid of, but when he rounded the corner the expression on their faces were not enraged, they were pleading, Pepper Potts barring the entrance and they seem no eager to force their way in.

 

“Please, Ms. Potts, let us help!” the woman was in her 30’s, dressed in a black suit and with a Stark Industries tag.

 

A quick look around, most of them had the same work tag, another look around and Bruce could see some of them with prosthetics, hands, feet, sometimes entire arms and legs and even an eye. Most of them in the prime of their lives and all in excellent physical shape.

 

“Dr. Banner!” one of them noticed his presence; it was a young man perhaps in his late teens. The mechanical noise coming from his leg was the only indication that it wasn’t natural, but his walk was steady and firm, “Please, we, all of us, we used to be SHIELD personnel. When Rogers sank it, Dr. Stark was the first in the files, not to find out more dirty, but to figure out who was still out there, in missions, more often than not, deep undercover that was just blown to the skies. Many didn’t have anything other than SHIELD, our family and friends protected only by their ignorance and then Dr. Stark helped us, rescued and extracted us from our missions, sometimes at the brink of time, provided us with new IDs, new safe houses and jobs. We owe her much more than just our lives and we also know most of what happened, we have our SHIELD training. We know you helped her back then, we just want to help however we can”

 

Bruce noticed that he was gaping a little but made no attempt to close his mouth, a quick look at Pepper and she was just as surprised perhaps because before they were all trying to speak at the same time and his arrival provided just enough silence for this young man to speak.

 

“We…I will have to fine comb your files before…” Pepper trailed off.

 

“We understand” the woman at the front shot a grateful look to the man that talked to Dr. Banner.

 

Pepper and Bruce shared another look.

 

-*-

 

In the main administration Stark Industries building, three women turned off the television, they already watched more than enough people trying to throw dirty on Rogers, the Avengers and Toni. And after what Pepper showed them…

 

“I don’t care what it takes. Toni is my friend, has been for years and what that witch did…Bruce is family, and this time I **_will_** **_not_** just stand by” Jennifer Walters stood in her impressive 5’10, in her sharp grey suit, she looked every bit the intimidating non-nonsense professional and turned to her friend, they met through Stark Industries, when Jennifer was the chosen lawyer to deal with the military liaisons, Rhodey was one… the other had a much worse temper.

 

She was even taller, at 5’11 and dressed just as cutting in her Air Force uniform, the two bars in her shoulder indicating the rank of captain, “Agreed” was all Carol Danvers could get out through gritted teeth.

 

Maria Hill didn’t have to do more than nod.

 

-*-

 

Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne finished watching the news and there was silence in the house for a few minutes.

 

“What exactly did Scott said to you before leaving?”

 

“Nothing. Nothing important at least” as far as Hope is concerned ‘Gotta go, this is important’ is **_not_** important.

 

Hank sighed, “Never thought I would say it, but for this one we will have to contact Stark”

 

-*-

 

And the field was set.


End file.
